Juliano Bitencourt

Juliano Bitencourt (22 June 1790-16 May 1866) was a Brazilian politician of the 19th century during the imperial era. Of Aquitainian origin, he was the first foreigner (neither Brazilian or Portuguese) to be elected to public office in Brazil when he was made the leader of the Brazilian Liberal Party in 1844. He was the head of the party from 1844 to 1848, succeeding Daniel Nogueira and preceding Mauricio Soares.

Biography
Juliano Bitencourt was born on 22 June 1790 in Sierra Caiada, Rio Grande do Norte, Portuguese Brazil. His father's grandfather immigrated to Brazil from Mimizan, Landes Department, in the Aquitaine region of southern France. Bitencourt's family was fully assimilated into Brazilian culture, speaking Portuguese. Bitencourt was apprenticed to a printer at the age of ten, and he became endeared to liberal ideas while printing papers. When the Brazilian War of Independence broke out in 1822, Bitencourt supported it, and he led a company of militia. In 1824, following the drafting of the Constitution, he was elected to the General Assembly Senate as a member of the Brazilian Liberal Party.

Bitencourt was defeated by Daniel Nogueira in the 1836 elections for the Liberal Party leadership, having won over Rio Grande do Norte, Ceara, Maranhao, and Bahia, but Nogueira defeated him with the votes from the other states. Bitencourt decided to take advantage of the 1839 Nogueira-Prado Affair in the 1840 elections, during which he attempted to run for office again. However, he was defeated again, and Nogueira was given another four-year term. Bitencourt won the 1844 elections after Nogueira retired to his plantation, and Bitencourt became the new leader of the Brazilian Liberal Party.

As the leader of the Liberal Party, Bitencourt appointed all of his allies to offices, effectively purging the party and re-branding it as his own party. Bitencourt gained a large amount of influence through his connections, and ensured that in every year from 1844 to 1848, the Liberal Party gained a larger percentage of seats in the General Assembly Senate. In 1848, he attempted to run for a second term, but he was defeated by Mauricio Soares. Bitencourt retired to his plantation in Sao Jose do Campestre, where he died in 1866.